LABOUR PARTY

Wairarapa Daily Times, 6 March 1934, Page 6

LABOUR PARTY

CAMPAIGN OPENED. GUARANTEED PRICES. ASHBURTON, Monday. The Leader of the Opposition (Mr M. J. Savage) opened his-South Island campaign to-night, addressing a large meeting. The Mayor (Mr Woods) presided. , Mr Savage said it aa*us apparent that the breakdoAvn of the Parliamentary system Avas due to control being vested in those Avith large private interests to serve rather than the common good. Unless incomes Avere sufficient to alloAV the purchase of imports, as Avell as of domestic goods and services, periods of industrial stagnation Avere. inevitable. The present monetary system Avas largely based on external prices and conditions. It should be transformed into one having for its foundation goods and sendees produced in the Dominion. World conditions made the national planning of production and distribution necessary. If national solvency and the Avelfare of the people Avere to be .considered, Avages and the benefits of machine and scientific processes must be available in the form of purchasing poAver, shorter hours of labour, national health ser-A-iees and universal superannuation at retiring age or on invalidity. Prices for all forms of production and the purchasing power of the people being interdependent, guaranteed prices for goods and service were the only logical solution of poverty among plenty. Referring to exchange, Mr Savage said it would have been more equitable to grant a straight-out subsidy on exports payable to relieve struggling farmers to their circumstances. An increase in the exchange always gav-e temporary assistance in the greatest measure to those with the largest turnover, AA T iio probably needed it least. It could not be graded. On the other hand, a straight-out subsidy could be graded according to circumstances. Attempts had been made to make people believe that the raising of the change would have the effect of increasing the national income, when as a matter of fact it did not increase the aggregate amount of the national income, but merely transferred a part of the national income from some pockets into others. The only redeeming feature about the exchange transaction was that it was an admission that external prices were not sufficient to maintain the primary industries in the Dominion and was a substantial argument in favour of the Labour policy of guaranteed prices over the whole field of production.—(P.A.)